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She swayed on the spot before tipping over, her fall being quick and hard, and accompanied by her head smashing on a nearby fence on the way down. I felt like I was seeing the whole thing in slow motion as her blood began to pool on the ground.

I was running toward her before I was even consciously aware of doing so, and Lucy followed hot on my tracks.

“Hello? Ma’am? Are you all right?”

From the ground, she looked up at me. The lights were quickly going out of her eyes. I kneeled down beside her, checking her pulse and then pulling her head into my lap. Lucy walked a circle around the woman, whining.

I took a deep breath, willing myself to stay calm as I reached into my pocket for my phone and dialed 911.

“Help is on the way, ma’am,” I said, although I was fairly sure she couldn’t hear me anymore. Her breaths were coming in and out, sharp and shallow—and they were starting to become too few and far between.

A car slowed down beside us as it drove down the street. The window to the passenger’s side lowered. “Is everything okay? Need any help?” The driver, an older man, peered out at us.

“An ambulance is on the way,” I said. “Thank you though.”

“Anything I can do?”

I thought about it. “No, I’m afraid not. I’m a nurse though, so I’m going to stay with her until help gets here.”

The man nodded. “Okay. Good luck.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The man drove off, casting a concerned glance back at us through his rearview mirror before turning the corner. All the while, I was painstakingly aware of the ticking clock and the fact that the woman was now hardly breathing at all.

Lucy was still whining, sensing the distress of the situation. “Easy, Luce,” I said as she approached the woman and began sniffing her ear. But then, she merely began licking the woman’s face, trying to help in whatever way she could.

I glanced down the street, hoping and praying the ambulance was on the way.

What’s taking them so long? I thought. The blood was pouring out and I was covered, but I had to remain calm.

I had been trained for this.

When two more minutes ticked by, I could no longer wait in good conscious. The woman needed assistance, and she needed assistance fast.

I checked her pulse one more time, and then proceeded to start CPR. In the midst of my second round of administering CPR, I finally heard sirens approaching. Shortly thereafter, the ambulance blared down the street, bringing along with it all the chaos that emergencies created.

Upon hearing the siren, bystanders began to make their appearances. People came out of their houses, cars slowed down, and joggers ran backwards in order to keep the scene in view.

“What happened?” one of the paramedics asked while pulling a stretcher toward the woman.

“She fell and hit her head.”

“Hey! Don’t touch her!” another called out.

“I’m a nurse! She needed CPR immediately.”

“You’re a nurse?” the first paramedic asked.

I nodded.

“All right, come with us then.”

“But my dog…” Lucy leaned against my leg, frightened by the sirens.

The paramedic swore. “Bring the dog with you then. Just keep administering CPR!”

CHAPTER 14